2005 Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner “Steinsetz”
Thick and rich, plenty of spice. Manages to be ripe, juicy, and succulent but at the same time has snap and definition with mineral, herbal, and nutty notes. Not a fabulous wine, but seems very very fun to drink young.
2005 Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Kamptaler Terrassen
Brisk silver minerals and pepper, with a dollop of fruit to prevent it from becoming too boring. But, it has neither the outgoing pleasure of the 2005 Steinsetz nor the complexity to handle its austere sensibility. No thanks.
1999 Nikolaihof Grüner Veltliner Smaragd “Im Weingebirge”
Nice wine. Golden maturing fruit with focused minerals underneath, which are both very nice components, but it seems to be in an inbetween phase waiting for complexity to emerge. So, I would probably hold off for a while on opening more bottles, although YMMV.
2005 Der Pollerhof Grüner Veltliner “Ried Phelling“
A slightly creamy wine, but it is mostly about the crisp iron mineral girders that dominate the structure and the wine. Nothing electric and nothing to think about, but it is fun to drink and it does improve the next day, so it may be good for uncritical crowds.
2001 Hirtzberger Grüner Veltliner Federspiel “Rotes Tor”
This starts out really delicious, great pungent golden funky herbal fruit buttressed by glistening and shining minerals. It is a brilliant match with homemade eggplant, shallot, ginger, and sage dumplings with lime sesame vinaigrette; the flavor combinations are Perfect. But with air, the wine starts to fall apart. So, drink quickly!